Recipe

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This Spanish chicken and rice is packed with bold flavor, tender chicken, and perfectly seasoned rice cooked in one pan.

Growing up in Spain, one simple and delicious dish we often ate was Spanish chicken & rice, or Arroz con Pollo. This is how my grandma used to make it.

overhead view of the finished recipe for Spanish chicken and rice, a seasoned chicken and rice dish garnished with lemon slices.

Authentic Spanish Chicken and Rice

The flavors of this recipe take me back to my childhood in Spain, where my grandmother cooked rice dishes with simple ingredients and aromatic spices. You could taste the quality (and her love) in every bite.

This Spanish chicken and rice is a little bolder than my simple chicken thighs with rice recipe, thanks to the homemade Spanish seasoning blend. It’s an easy weeknight dinner at my house, and one I think you’ll find yourself making again and again.

Ingredients

Boneless chicken thighs are the star of this dish, staying juicy while they cook alongside the rice. A simple Spanish seasoning mix (included) adds bold flavor to both the chicken and rice. Onion, bell pepper, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes create the flavorful base, while chicken broth cooks the rice until tender.

Spanish Seasonings

No packet needed! You’ll combine smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper for bold flavor. The recipe makes enough to season both the chicken thighs and the rice, so every bite is packed with flavor.

overhead view of seasonings needed to make spanish seasoning mix for rice and chicken

How to Make Spanish Chicken & Rice

Combine the seasoning ingredients.
Mix in one dish, then mix half with olive oil in a large bowl to season the chicken, and the rest for the rice.
Season and sear the chicken thighs.
Toss the chicken thighs with the seasoned olive oil mixture, then sear them for about 3 minutes per side. You’re just making the outsides golden and trapping the juices in; the thighs will finish cooking with the rice.

2 image collage. on left, boneless skinless chicken thighs in a bowl seasoned with spanish seasoning and on right, the chicken thighs have been seared on a plate.

Sauté the veggies and build your flavor base for the rice.
Cook the onions and peppers until soft, then add the tomato paste and the seasoning blend. Then add the rice, tomatoes, and broth, and combine.
Return the chicken to the pan and cook the rice.
Place the chicken thighs on top of the rice along with any juices from the plate (they add flavor). Bring it to a simmer, cover, and cook this dish over the lowest heat until the rice is tender.

2 image collage of how to make spanish chicken and rice. On left, the overhead view of the pan with the rice and tomatoes and liquid with seared thighs on top before cooking and on right, the rice has cooked and it's been garnished with lemon slices.

Rest, garnish, and serve.
I let this rest for 5 minutes before serving. Some people enjoy garnishing this dish with green olives (they’re salty), chopped parsley, and lemon wedges, which we squeeze over our rice in Spain.

More Recipes from Spain

Other recipes with similar flavors that remind me of my grandmother’s kitchen in Spain include my Basque chicken, these chicken thighs with potatoes, these chicken livers with onions, and this chicken stew with potatoes recipe.

Easy Spanish Chicken & Rice (Grandma’s Recipe)

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

This Spanish chicken and rice is packed with bold flavor, tender chicken, and perfectly seasoned rice cooked in one pan.

5 from 29 votes

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Ingredients

6 chicken thighs, boneless skinless*
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, 1 cup chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ½ cups white rice*
3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium or water warmed
14 ounce can diced tomatoes, regular size or petite with liquid

Spanish seasoning:

1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Prep:

Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
In a small dish, combine the seasoning ingredients. Mix well. You'll use half of this seasoning to season the chicken, and the other half will be added to the rice.
In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 ½ tablespoons of the Spanish seasoning. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and toss to coat both sides of each thigh with seasoning.

Cook:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sear the chicken thighs 3 minutes per side. Remove them onto a plate on the side. They won't be fully cooked at this point and that's ok. They'll finish cooking with the rice. Heat up the chicken broth now, so it's warm when you need it in the next step.
Drizzle an additional 1 tablespoon of oil onto the pan (with the drippings), still over medium heat, and sauté the onions and peppers for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, rice and remaining seasoning to the skillet and stir. Add the chicken stock (or water), diced tomatoes and mix everything in the skillet.
Place the seared chicken thighs on top of the rice (pour any juices from the plate into the skillet). Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan with a lid, and let it cook for 20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes without opening the lid. Around minute 15, I give the pan (covered) a little shimmy shake.
Serve hot and enjoy! In Spain, we often garnish this dish with chopped parsley and fresh lemon wedges.

Notes

In Spain, we don't put green olives in this rice (although I've seen other recipe creators do this in the US). If you like green olives, you can add ½ cup sliced when you add the tomatoes. You can swap diced tomatoes for 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes plus ½ cup additional liquid to cook the rice.
Long grain white rice is what I use for this recipe.
In the US, there are several paprika varieties (each labeled differently). You'll find smoked, sweet, Spanish paprika, and just paprika. I prefer smoked paprika but if you don't have it, any of them will work.
If you want to use chicken breasts instead of thighs, you'll need 2 breasts (about 1.5lbs), butterflied (sliced in half horizontally) into 4 thin pieces. If you want to use bone-in thighs, sear them skin-side-down first, for about 6 minutes, then another 6 on the second side.
Tip: if you're opening a small can of tomato paste, freeze leftovers by measuring 1 tablespoon size dollops on top a piece of parchment, place the parchment on a plate, and freeze it flat for an hour. Then, I transfer each 1 tablespoon clump inside a zip bag where it can stay frozen for up to 3 months.